company, making them the King’s Men. In many ways, Macbeth can be seen as a show of gratitude from Shakespeare to his new King and benefactor. For instance, King James actually traced his ancestry back to the real-life Banquo. Shakespeare’s transformation of the Banquo in Holinshed’s Chronicles who helped murder Duncan to the noble man in Macbeth who refused to help kill Duncan is therefore a kind of compliment given to King James’ ancestor.

Extra CreditShakespeare or Not? There are some who believe

Shakespeare wasn’t educated enough to write the plays attributed to him. The most common anti-Shakespeare theory is that Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays and used Shakespeare as a front man because aristocrats were not supposed to write plays. Yet the evidence supporting Shakespeare’s authorship far outweighs any evidence against. So until further notice, Shakespeare is still the most influential writer in the English language.

Background InfoClimax: Macbeth’s murder of DuncanProtagonist: MacbethAntagonists: The Weird Sisters

Historical and Literary ContextWhen Written: 1606Where Written: England When Published: 1623Literary Period: The Renaissance (1500-1660)Related Literary Works: Shakespeare’s source for Macbeth

was Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, though in writing Macbeth Shakespeare changed numerous details for dramatic and thematic reasons, and even for political reasons (see Related Historical Events). For instance, in Holinshed’s version, Duncan was a weak and ineffectual King, and Banquo actually helped Macbeth commit the murder. Shakespeare’s changes to the story emphasize Macbeth’s fall from nobility to man ruled by ambition and destroyed by guilt.

Related Historical Events: When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, King James of Scotland became King of England. James almost immediately gave his patronage to Shakespeare’s

Author BioFull Name: William ShakespeareDate of Birth: 1564Place of Birth: Stratford-upon-Avon, EnglandDate of Death: 1616Brief Life Story: Shakespeare’s father was a glove-maker,

and Shakespeare received no more than a grammar school education. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, but left his family behind around 1590 and moved to London, where he became an actor and playwright. He was an immediate success: Shakespeare soon became the most popular playwright of the day as well as a part-owner of the Globe Theater. His theater troupe was adopted by King James as the King’s Men in 1603. Shakespeare retired as a rich and prominent man to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613, and died three years later.

Key FactsFull Title: The Tragedy of MacbethGenre: Tragic dramaSetting: Scotland and, briefly, England during the eleventh

century

Norwegians, aided by Scottish rebels, have invaded Scotland. The Scots successfully defend their country and their beloved king, Duncan. One Scotsman in particular, Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, distinguishes himself in fighting off the invaders. After the battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo come upon the weird sisters, three witches who prophesies that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor, and one day King. They further proph-esy that Banquo’s descendants will be kings. The men don’t at first believe the witches, but then learn that the old Thane of Cawdor was actually a traitor helping the Norwegians, and that Duncan has rewarded Macbeth’s bravery on the battlefield by making him Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth immediately fantasizes about murdering Duncan and becoming king, but pushes the thought away. Later that day, Duncan announces that his eldest son, Malcolm, will be heir to his throne. As Macbeth begins to succumb to his ambition, Duncan decides to spend the night in celebration at Macbeth’s castle of Inverness. Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband about the prophecy and Duncan’s imminent arrival. She decides her husband is too kind to follow his ambitions, and vows to push him to murder Duncan and take the crown that very night. Macbeth at first resists his wife’s plan, but his ambition and her constant questioning of his courage and manhood win him over. That night they murder Duncan and frame the men guarding

Duncan’s room. The next morning, Macduff, another Scottish thane, discovers Duncan dead and raises the alarm. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth pretend to be shocked and outraged. Mac-beth murders the guardsmen of Duncan’s room to keep them silent, but says he did it out of a furious rage that they killed the king. Duncan’s sons think they may be the next target, and flee. Macbeth is made king, and because they ran, Duncan’s sons become the prime suspects in their father’s murder. Because he knows the witches’ prophecy, Banquo is suspi-cious of Macbeth. And because of the prophecy that Banquo’s line will reign as kings, Macbeth sees Banquo as a threat. Macbeth gives a feast, inviting many thanes, including Banquo. Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son Flea-nce as they ride to attend the feast. The men kill Banquo, but Fleance escapes. At the feast, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, though no one else does. Macbeth’s behavior and the death of Banquo make all the thanes suspicious. They begin to think of Macbeth as a tyrant. Macduff refuses to appear at the royal court at all, and goes to England to support Malcolm in his ef-fort to raise an army against Macbeth. Macbeth visits the three witches to learn more about his fate. They show him three apparitions who tell Macbeth to beware Macduff, but also that no “man born of woman” can defeat him and that he will rule until Birnam Wood marches

to Dunsinane (a castle). Since all men are born of women and trees can’t move, Macbeth takes this to mean he’s invincible. Yet the witches also confirm the prophecy that Banquo’s line will one day rule Scotland. To strengthen his hold on the crown, Macbeth sends men to Macduff’s castle to murder Macduff’s family. Meanwhile, in England, Macduff and Malcolm prepare to invade Scotland. When news comes to England of the mur-der of Macduff’s family, Macduff, weeping, vows revenge. While the English and Scottish under Malcolm march toward Dunsinane, Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking and imagining blood on her hands that can’t be washed off. Macbeth has become manic, cruel, and haughty—many of his men desert to Malcolm’s side. In Birnam Wood, Malcolm and his generals devise a strategy to hide their numbers—they cut branches to hold up in front of them. As Macbeth prepares for the siege, Lady Macbeth dies, perhaps of suicide. Macbeth can barely feel anything anymore, and her death only makes him give a speech about the meaninglessness of life. Then Malcolm’s forces appear looking like a forest marching toward the castle. Malcolm’s forces quickly capture Dunsinane, but Macbeth him-self fights on, mocking all who dare to face him as “men born of woman.” But Macduff reveals that he was “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb (a caesarean section). Macduff kills Macbeth, and Malcolm is crowned as King of Scotland.

Plot Summary

CharactersMacbeth – Lady Macbeth’s husband and a Scottish noble-man, the Thane of Glamis. He is made Thane of Cawdor for his bravery in battle, and becomes King of Scotland by murdering the previous King, Duncan. As Macbeth opens, Macbeth is one of the great noblemen in Scotland: valiant, loyal, and honorable. He’s also ambitious, and while this ambition helps to make him the great lord he is, once he hears the weird sis-ters’ prophecy Macbeth becomes so consumed by his desire for power that he becomes a tyrannical and violent monster who ultimately destroys himself. What’s perhaps most inter-esting about Macbeth is that he senses the murder will lead to his own destruction even before he murders Duncan, yet his ambition is so great that he still goes through with it.

Lady Macbeth – Macbeth’s wife. Unlike her husband, she has no reservations about murdering Duncan in order to make Macbeth King of Scotland. She believes that a true man takes what he wants, and whenever Macbeth objects to murdering Duncan on moral grounds, she questions his courage. Lady Macbeth assumes that she’ll be able to murder Duncan and then quickly forget it once she’s Queen of Scotland. But she discovers that guilt is not so easily avoided, and falls into mad-ness and despair.

Banquo – A Scottish nobleman, general, and friend of Macbeth. He is also the father of Fleance. The weird sisters prophesies that while Banquo will never be King of Scotland, his descendants will one day sit on the throne. Banquo is as ambitious as Macbeth, but unlike Macbeth he resists putting his selfish ambition above his honor or the good of Scotland.

Because he both knows the prophecy and is honorable, Ban-quo is both a threat to Macbeth and a living example of the noble path that Macbeth chose not to take. After Macbeth has Banquo murdered he is haunted by Banquo’s ghost, which symbolizes Macbeth’s terrible guilt at what he has become.

Macduff – A Scottish nobleman, and the Thane of Fife. His wife is Lady Macduff, and the two have babies and a young son. Macduff offers a contrast to Macbeth: a Scottish lord who, far from being ambitious, puts the welfare of Scotland even ahead of the welfare of his own family. Macduff suspects Macbeth from the beginning, and becomes one of the leaders of the rebellion. After Macbeth has Macduff’s family murdered, Macduff’s desire for vengeance becomes more personal and powerful.

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Macbeth

King Duncan – The King of Scotland, and the father of Malcolm and Donalbain. Macbeth murders him to get the crown. Duncan is the model of a good, virtuous king who puts the welfare of the country above his own and seeks, like a gar-dener, to nurture and grow the kingdom that is his responsibil-ity. Duncan is the living embodiment of the political and social order that Macbeth destroys.

Malcolm – The older of King Duncan’s two sons, and Duncan’s designated heir to the throne of Scotland. Early in the play, Malcolm is a weak and inexperienced leader, and he actually flees Scotland in fear after his father is murdered. But Malcolm matures, and with the help of Macduff and an English army, Malcolm eventually overthrows Macbeth and retakes the throne, restoring the order that was destroyed when Dun-can was murdered.

Weird Sisters – Three witches, whose prophecy helps push Macbeth’s ambition over the edge, and convinces him to murder Duncan in order to become King. The witches’ knowledge of future events clearly indicates that they have supernatural powers, and they also clearly enjoy using those powers to cause havoc and mayhem among mankind. But it is important to realize that the witches never compel anyone to do anything. Instead, they tell half-truths to lure men into giving into their own dark desires. It’s left vague in Macbeth whether

Macbeth would have become King of Scotland if he just sat back and did nothing. This vagueness seems to suggest that while the broad outlines of a person’s fate might be predeter-mined, how the fate plays out is up to him.

Fleance – Banquo’s teenage son. Macbeth sees him as a threat because of the weird sisters’ prophecy that Banquo’s descendants will one day rule Scotland.

Lady Macduff – The wife of Macduff and the mother of Macduff’s children (and the only female character of note in the play besides Lady Macbeth). She questions her hus-band’s decision to leave his family behind when he goes to England to help Malcolm save Scotland from Macbeth.

Young Macduff – Macduff’s son, still a child.

Lennox – A Scottish nobleman.

Ross – A Scottish nobleman.

Angus – A Scottish nobleman.

Donalbain – King Duncan’s younger son and Malcolm’s brother.

Murderers – Men hired by Macbeth to kill Banquo and Fleance.

Porter – The guardian of the gate at Macbeth’s castle..

Hecate – The goddess of witchcraft.

Gentlewoman – Lady Macbeth’s attendant.

Siward – A warlike English lord.

Young Siward – Siward’s son.

King Edward – The King of England. He is so saintly his touch can cure the sick.

Captain – A captain in the Scottish Army.

Seyton – Macbeth’s servant.

Old Man – An elderly fellow who sees some strange things happen the night Macbeth murders Duncan.

English Doctor – An English doctor.

Scottish Doctor – The doctor Macbeth assigns to cure Lady Macbeth of her madness.

AmbitionMacbeth is a play about ambition run amok. The weird sis-ters’ prophecies spur both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to try to fulfill their ambitions, but the witches never make Macbeth or his wife do anything. Macbeth and his wife act on their own to fulfill their deepest desires. Macbeth, a good general and, by all accounts before the action of the play, a good man, allows his ambition to overwhelm him and becomes a murdering, paranoid maniac. Lady Macbeth, once she begins to put into actions the once-hidden thoughts of her mind, is crushed by guilt. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want to be great and powerful, and sacrifice their morals to achieve that goal. By contrasting these two characters with others in the play, such as Banquo, Duncan, and Macduff, who also want to be great leaders but refuse to allow ambition to come before honor, Macbeth shows how naked ambition, freed from any sort of moral or social conscience, ultimately takes over every other characteristic of a person. Unchecked ambition, Macbeth sug-gests, can never be fulfilled, and therefore quickly grows into a monster that will destroy anyone who gives into it.

FateFrom the moment the weird sisters tell Macbeth and Ban-quo their prophecies, both the characters and the audience are forced to wonder about fate. Is it real? Is action necessary to make it come to pass, or will the prophecy come true no matter what one does? Different characters answer these questions in different ways at different times, and the final answers are ambiguous—as fate always is. Unlike Banquo, Macbeth acts: he kills Duncan. Macbeth tries to master fate, to make fate conform to exactly what he wants. But, of course, fate doesn’t work that way. By trying to master fate once, Macbeth puts himself in the position of hav-ing to master fate always. At every instant, he has to struggle against those parts of the witches’ prophecies that don’t favor him. Ultimately, Macbeth becomes so obsessed with his fate that he becomes delusional: he becomes unable to see the half-truths behind the witches’ prophecies. By trying to master fate, he brings himself to ruin.

ViolenceTo call Macbeth a violent play is an understatement. It begins in battle, contains the murder of men, women, and children, and ends not just with a climactic siege but the suicide of Lady Macbeth and the beheading of its main character, Macbeth. In the process of all this bloodshed, Macbeth makes an im-portant point about the nature of violence: every violent act, even those done for selfless reasons, seems to lead inevitably to the next. The violence through which Macbeth takes the throne, as Macbeth himself realizes, opens the way for oth-ers to try to take the throne for themselves through violence. So Macbeth must commit more violence, and more violence, until violence is all he has left. As Macbeth himself says after seeing Banquo’s ghost, “blood will to blood.” Violence leads to violence, a vicious cycle.

Nature and the UnnaturalIn medieval times, it was believed that the health of a country was directly related to the goodness and moral legitimacy of its king. If the King was good and just, then the nation would have good harvests and good weather. If there was political order, then there would be natural order. Macbeth shows this connection between the political and natural world: when Macbeth disrupts the social and political order by murder-ing Duncan and usurping the throne, nature goes haywire. Incredible storms rage, the earth tremors, animals go insane and eat each other. The unnatural events of the physical world emphasize the horror of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s acts, and mirrors the warping of their souls by ambition. Also note the way that different characters talk about nature in the play. Duncan and Malcolm use nature meta-phors when they speak of kingship—they see themselves as gardeners and want to make their realm grow and flower. In contrast, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth either try to hide from nature (wishing the stars would disappear) or to use nature to hide their cruel designs (being the serpent hiding beneath the innocent flower). The implication is that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, once they’ve given themselves to the extreme self-ishness of ambition, have themselves become unnatural.

ManhoodOver and over again in Macbeth, characters discuss or debate about manhood: Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth when he decides not to kill Duncan, Banquo refuses to join Macbeth in his plot, Lady Macduff questions Macduff’s decision to go to England, and on and on. Through these challenges, Macbeth questions and exam-ines manhood itself. Does a true man take what he wants no matter what it is, as Lady Macbeth believes? Or does a real man have the strength to restrain his desires, as Banquo be-lieves? All of Macbeth can be seen as a struggle to answer this question about the nature and responsibilities of manhood.

Themes

Visions and HallucinationsA number of times in Macbeth, Macbeth sees or hears strange things: the floating dagger, the voice that says he’s murdering sleep, and Banquo’s ghost. As Macbeth himself wonders about the dagger, are these sights and sounds super-natural visions or figments of his guilty imagination? The play

contains no definitive answer, which is itself a kind of answer: they’re both. Macbeth is a man at war with himself, his innate honor battling his ambition. Just as nature goes haywire when the normal natural order is ruptured, Macbeth’s own mind does the same when it is forced to fight against itself.

BloodBlood is always closely linked to violence, but over the course of Macbeth blood comes to symbolize something else: guilt. Death and killing happen in an instant, but blood remains, and

stains. At the times when both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feel most guilty, they despair that they will never be able to wash the blood—their guilt—from their hands.

SleepWhen he murders Duncan, Macbeth thinks he hears a voice say “Macbeth does murder sleep” (2.2.34). Sleep symbolizes innocence, purity, and peace of mind, and in killing Duncan Macbeth actually does murder sleep: Lady Macbeth begins to sleepwalk, and Macbeth is haunted by his nightmares.

Symbols

In LitCharts, each theme gets its own corresponding color, which you can use to track where the themes occur in the work. There are two ways to track themes:

Refer to the color-coded bars next to each plot point throughout the Summary and Analysis sections. Use the ThemeTracker section to get a quick overview of where the themes appear throughout the entire work.

Symbols are shown in red text whenever they appear in the Plot Summary and Summary and Analysis sections of this LitChart.

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Summary and Analysis

Act 1, scene 1

As a storm rages, three witches appear, speaking in rhyming, paradoxical couplets: “when the battle’s lost and won” (1.1.4); “fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1.10). They agree to meet again on the heath (plain) when the battle now raging ends. There they’ll meet Macbeth.

The witches’ rhyming speech

makes them seem inhuman,

ominous, and paranormal,

which, in fact, they are.

Act 1, scene 2

At a military camp, King Duncan of Scotland, his sons Malcolm and Donalbain, and the Thane of Lennox wait for news of the war. A captain enters, covered in so much blood he is almost unrecognizable. The captain tells them of the state of the battle against the invading Norwegians and the Scottish rebels Macdonald and the Thane of Cawdor. Two Scottish nobleman have been especially brave, Macbeth (the Thane of Glamis) and Banquo. Macbeth killed Macdonald (“unseemed him from the nave to th’ chops” (1.2.22)).

The blood covering the captain

makes him an unrecognizable

monster, just as Macbeth, who

in this scene is described as

a noble hero who is brave

and loyal to his king, will be

transformed into a monster as

he becomes “covered” with the

metaphorical blood of those he

kills to achieve his ambitions.

The Thane of Ross arrives, and describes how Macbeth defeated Sweno, the Norwegian King, who now begs for a truce. Duncan proclaims that the traitorous Thane of Cawdor shall be put to death, and that Macbeth shall be made Thane of Cawdor.

Duncan rewards and trusts his

subjects. This is the opposite of

personal ambition. Ironically,

though, he replaces one traitor

with a much worse traitor.

Act 1, scene 3

On the heath the witches appear. They call themselves the “weird sisters” (1.3.30) and brag of their dread and magical deeds such as killing swine and cursing a sailor to waste away.

The witches are established

as both wicked and magically

powerful.

Macbeth and Banquo enter. The witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and “king hereafter” (1.3.47). Banquo asks Macbeth why he seems to fear this good news, then questions the witches about his own future. They say that Banquo is “lesser than Macbeth and greater” (1.3.63) because though he’ll never be king, his descendants will.

Does the fear Banquo notes in

Macbeth signal that Macbeth’s

doomed struggle against his

ambition starts the instant he

hears the prophecy?

Macbeth asks how the witches know this information. But the witches vanish, making the two men wonder if they could have imagined the whole thing. Just then, Ross and Angus enter. They tell Macbeth that the old Thane of Cawdor was a traitor and that Duncan has made Macbeth the new Thane of Cawdor.

The prophecy is fulfilled and

the witches’ power is proved to

be genuine. The traitorous old

Thane of Cawdor is replaced

by Macbeth.

Macbeth and Banquo are shocked. Macbeth asks Banquo if he now thinks that his children will be king. Banquo seems unsure, and comments that “instruments of darkness” sometimes tell half truths to bring men to ruin.

Banquo guesses the witches’

plot exactly. This means that

when Macbeth chooses to

believe the witches and act, he

knows the risks.

As Banquo talks with Ross and Angus, Macbeth ponders the prophecy. If it’s evil, why would it truly predict his being made Thane of Cawdor? If it’s good, why would he already be contemplating murder, a thought that makes “my seated heart knock at my ribs” (1.3.134-136)? Macbeth feels that he’s losing himself, and hopes that if fate says he’ll become king, he won’t have to act to make it happen.

Macbeth is already thinking

about killing Duncan, but the

thought terrifies him: he’s strug-

gling against his ambition. His

thoughts about fate are classic:

does fate happen no matter

what, or must one act?

Ross and Angus think Macbeth’s reverie is caused by becoming Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth and Banquo agree to speak about the witches’ prophecy later.

This exchange with Banquo is

the last time Macbeth is honest

in the play.

Act 1, scene 4

At a camp near the battlefield, Malcolm tells Duncan that the old Thane of Cawdor confessed and repented before being executed. Duncan notes that you can’t always trust a man by his outward show. Macbeth, Banquo, Ross, and Angus enter. Duncan says that even the gift of Cawdor is not as much as Macbeth deserves. Macbeth responds: “The service and loyalty I owe, in doing it, pays itself” (1.4.22).

Deeply ironic that just as

Duncan comments about how

you can’t trust people’s outward

shows, Macbeth enters. Dun-

can’s great strength as a king

is his trust in his people and his

thanes, but it also makes him

vulnerable to treachery.

Duncan is pleased. He says: “I have begun to plant thee, and will labour to make thee full of growing” (1.4.28-29). Next, he announces that Malcolm will be heir to the Scottish throne (the kingship was not hereditary in Scotland at that time). Duncan then adjourns the meeting and decides to spend the night at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle.

Duncan thinks of his role as

King in terms of what he can

give. He’s like a gardener in

nature; putting his country

above his own desires...

Macbeth goes ahead to prepare for the King’s visit, but notes that Malcolm now stands between him and the throne. He begs the stars to “hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.51).

...Macbeth, in contrast, thinks

in terms of what he can take.

This makes his relationship with

nature adversarial.

Act 1, scene 5

At Inverness, Lady Macbeth reads a letter in which Macbeth tells her of the witches’ prophecy. Lady Macbeth worries Macbeth is too kind and honorable to fulfill his ambition and the prophecy. She decides to question his manhood to make him act.

Lady Macbeth is established as

power-hungry. She sees honor

as a weakness, and knows how

to push her husband’s buttons:

question his courage.

A servant enters with news that Duncan will spend the night, then exits. Lady Macbeth says Duncan’s visit will be fatal, and calls on spirits to “unsex me here… and take my milk for gall” (1.5.39-46).

In order to murder Duncan,

Lady Macbeth not only

renounces her womanhood, she

literally asks to be turned into

an unnatural fiend!

Macbeth enters, and says Duncan will spend the night and leave the next day. Lady Macbeth says Duncan will never see that day. She counsels Macbeth to look like an “innocent flower,” but be the viper hiding beneath it (1.5.63). Macbeth remains unconvinced. Lady Macbeth tells him to leave the plan to her.

Macbeth is still struggling

against his ambition. Lady Mac-

beth’s advice on how to hide

one’s true intentions involves

exploiting nature. (Note: in the

Garden of Eden, the devil hid

himself in the form of a snake.)

Act 1, scene 6

Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, Banquo, Lennox, Macduff, Ross, and Angus arrive at Inverness. Duncan comments on the sweetness of the air. Banquo notes that martlets, a species of bird that usually nests in churches, have nested in the castle.

Ironic that Duncan thinks the

castle where he’ll be murdered

is beautiful. Also shows what

beauty Macbeth loses when he

gives in to his ambition.

Lady Macbeth warmly greets the King and the thanes, though Macbeth is nowhere to be seen.

At this point, the planned mur-

der weighs more on Macbeth

than on Lady Macbeth.

Act 1, scene 7

Macbeth, alone, agonizes about whether to kill Duncan. He’d be willing to murder Duncan if he thought that would be the end of it. But he knows that “bloody instructions, being taught, return to plague the inventor” (1.7 .10). Also, Macbeth notes, Duncan is a guest, kinsmen, and good king. He decides ambition is not enough to justify the murder.

Macbeth wrestles with his

ambition and wins! He knows

that murdering Duncan will

only end up leading to more

bloodshed, and ruin his honor,

which he prizes.

The color-coded bars in Summary and Analysis make it easy to track the themes through the work. Each color corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section. For in-stance, a bar of indicates that all five themes apply to that part of the summary.

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Lady Macbeth enters, asking where he’s been. Macbeth tells her they won’t murder Duncan. She questions his manhood. Macbeth replies: “I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none” (1.7 .46-47). But Lady Macbeth continues: she says she has nursed his baby, but if she’d known her husband was such a coward she’d have rather “dashed [the baby’s] brains out” (1.7 .56).

Lady Macbeth and Macbeth

debate about manhood and

courage. She says it’s taking

what you want. He says it’s

the power to put responsibility

before selfishness, the power to

not take what you want.

Macbeth asks what will happen if they fail. Lady Macbeth assures him they won’t fail if they have courage. She outlines the plan: she’ll give Duncan’s bedroom attendants enough wine to ensure they black out from drunkenness. Then she and Macbeth will commit the murder and frame the attendants. Macbeth, impressed by her courage, agrees.

Lady Macbeth’s tragedy is

that she doesn’t realize that

murdering Duncan will torment

and ultimately destroy her. Mac-

beth’s tragedy is more profound:

he does realize it, and still gives

in to his ambition.

Act 2, scene 1

It is after midnight in Inverness. Banquo talks with his son Fleance and notices the stars aren’t shining. He prays for angels to “restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature gives way to in repose” (2.1.7-8).

Banquo is also struggling

against ambition. Earlier

Macbeth begged the stars to

hide(1.4.51). They have.

Macbeth enters. Banquo tells Macbeth his sleep has been troubled by dreams of the weird sisters. Macbeth claims never to think about them. But he suggests they talk about the witches soon, and adds that if Banquo supports him when the time comes he’ll reward and honor Banquo for it.

Banquo is open about the

troubling “dreams” the witches

have inspired in him. Macbeth,

who has decided to act on his

own slefish ambition, is not.

Banquo says he’ll be receptive to what Macbeth has to say provided he loses no honor in seeking to gain more. Banquo and Fleance head off to bed.

Banquo believes true manhood

means acting honorably—just

what Macbeth used to believe.

Alone, Macbeth sees a bloody dagger floating in the air. He can’t grasp it, and can’t decide whether it’s a phantom or his imagination. “Nature seems dead” to him (2.1.50).

As Macbeth gets closer to the

murder, nature starts to go

haywire.

Offstage, Lady Macbeth rings the bell to signal that Duncan’s attendants are asleep. Macbeth goes to murder Duncan.

Interesting that in Macbeth,

most of the violence happens

offstage.

Act 2, scene 2

Lady Macbeth waits in agitation for Macbeth to do the deed. She comments that had the sleeping Duncan not looked like her father she’d have killed him herself.

Lady Macbeth isn’t completely

cold-blooded, foreshadowing her

future feelings of guilt.

Macbeth enters. He’s killed Duncan and Duncan’s attendants. His hands are bloodstained and he’s upset that when one of the attendants said “God bless us” in his sleep, he was unable to say “Amen.” He also thought he heard a voice say “Macbeth does murder sleep” (2.2.34).

Bloodstained hands and

sleeplessness: symbols of guilt.

Macbeth is anguished: he

knows the consequences of this

murder.

Lady Macbeth soothes him and tells him to wash his hands, but notices he’s still carrying the daggers he used to kill Duncan. Macbeth refuses to return to the scene of the crime. Lady Macbeth, furious, runs off to plant the daggers on the attendants.

Compare Macbeth’s nervous-

ness to Lady Macbeth’s calm,

collected behavior.

A knock sounds, terrifying Macbeth. He worries that not all the water in the world could wash the blood from his hands.

The knock at the door paralells

the “knocking” of Macbeth’s

heart in scene 1.3.

Lady Macbeth returns, her hands now as bloody as Macbeth’s. But she’s calm, and identifies the ‘mysterious’ knocking as someone at the south entrance. She says: “a little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.65), and tells Macbeth to go and put his nightgown on so no one will suspect them.

Lady Macbeth is calm. She

identifies the “mysterious”

knocking as someone at the

South entrance. But she is

naïve, thinking water can wash

away her guilt.

Macbeth wishes that the knocking could wake Duncan.

Macbeth shows remorse.

Act 2, scene 3

A porter goes to the answer the door, joking to himself that he is the doorkeeper at the mouth of hell, and mocking whoever might be knocking to get into hell. At the door are Macduff and Lennox. Macduff good-naturedly asks what took so long. The porter blames drunkenness, and makes a series of jokes about alcohol and its effects on men.

The Porter provides a moment

of ironic comedy. He imagines

he’s guarding hell, but with the

murder of Duncan he really is

guarding a hellish place.

Macbeth enters, pretending to have just woken up. Macduff asks if the King has woken yet: Duncan had asked to see Macduff early that morning. Macbeth points out where Duncan is sleeping, and Macduff goes off to wake him.

Introduction of Macduff, and

contrast between Macbeth’s

lying and treachery with

Macduff ’s openness and loyalty.

As they wait for Macduff to return, Lennox describes the terrible storm that raged the previous night and sounded like “strange screams of death” (2.3.52).

The unnatural act of killing

Duncan has caused havoc in

nature.

Macduff cries out in horror and runs onstage. Macbeth and Lennox ask what happened, then run to Duncan’s chamber. Banquo, Malcolm, and Donalbain wake. Lady Macbeth enters, pretending not to know what happened, and expressing horror when Macduff tells her of the murder. Macbeth returns, and wishes he had died rather than have to see such a thing. Malcolm and Donalbain enter and ask what’s happened. Lennox tells them that Duncan was murdered by his drunken attendants.

Everyone is being “natural” and

honest in their grief except

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

They are the snakes hiding

behind the “innocent flower.”

Everything they do now must

protect their secret. This secrecy

becomes their defining trait,

warping them.

Macbeth wishes aloud that he hadn’t killed the attendants. When Macduff asks why Macbeth did kill the attendants, Macbeth says he was so furious that they had murdered the Duncan that he couldn’t control himself. Lady Macbeth faints.

Macbeth killed the attendants

to keep them quiet. Does

Macduff suspect already? Lady

Macbeth faints to head off

further questioning.

The thanes agree to meet in the hall to discuss what’s happened. Malcolm and Donalbain, though, remain behind. They realize that one of the thanes is probably the murderer and fear that they’ll be the next targets. They decide to flee: Malcolm to England and Donalbain to Ireland.

Malcolm and Donalbain realize

any one of the thanes could be

faking his grief. The unnatural

hides itself by looking natural.

Act 2, scene 4

Ross and an old man stand near Macbeth’s castle. They discuss the unnatural portents just before and after Duncan’s murder: darkness during the day, owls killing hawks, horses eating one another.

Further havoc in nature caused

by the murder of Duncan and

destruction of the natural order.

Macduff enters. He says it seems Duncan’s attendants did commit the murder, and that because Malcolm and Donalbain fled they likely were behind the plot.

Macbeth’s plot worked! If he

could be a good and virtuous

King, perhaps it will all turn

out well…

Macduff then says Macbeth has been made king, and that he has already gone to Scone for the coronation. Ross heads to the coronation. But Macduff returns to his own castle at Fife.

…but does Macduff suspect

him already? It isn’t clear. But

the paranoid Macbeth must think he does: violence creates

fear which leads to violence.

Act 3, scene 1

In the royal palace of Forres, Banquo states his suspicion that Macbeth fulfilled the witches’ prophecy by foul play. But he notes that since the prophecy came true for Macbeth, perhaps it will come true for him as well.

Banquo suspects Macbeth,

but it is his own ambition—

the possibility that the

prophecy might be true for

him too—that occupies

his mind.

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Macbeth enters, with other thanes and Lady Macbeth. He asks Banquo to attend a feast that evening. Banquo says he will, but that meanwhile he has to ride somewhere on business. Macbeth asks if Fleance will be riding with him. Banquo says yes, then departs. Once he’s alone, Macbeth sends a servant to summon two men. As he waits for them to arrive, he muses if the witches prophecy is true, then Banquo’s descendants will be king, and he’ll have murdered Duncan for nothing.

Macbeth wants to kill

Banquo because he resents

Banquo’s honor and because

the prophecy makes Banquo

a threat. Also, Macbeth’s guilt

at murdering Duncan makes

him want that murder to be

“worthwhile.” Macbeth’s guilt

about one crime pushes him

to commit another.

The two men (identified in the stage directions as “murderers”) enter. Macbeth tells them it’s Banquo’s fault they’re poor, then questions their manhood for bearing such offenses. The murderers agree to kill Banquo and Fleance.

Macbeth uses the same

methods to get the murder-

ers to kill Banquo and

Fleance that Lady Macbeth

used against Macbeth: he

questions their manhood.

Act 3, scene 2

After sending a servant to fetch Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, waits, and muses that she has what she desires but isn’t happy.

First indication that all is not

well with Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth enters. She asks why he spends so much time alone. Macbeth responds: “We have scorched the snake, not killed it” (3.2.15). He fears someone might try to kill him as he killed Duncan, and seems envious of Duncan’s “sleep” (3.2.25).

In order to keep power built

by violence, more violence

is always needed. Macbeth

knew this would happen; he’s

caught in the vicious cycle of

violence...

Lady Macbeth reminds him to be “bright and jovial” at the feast. Macbeth tells her to act the same. But then Macbeth moans, “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” (3.2.37) because Banquo and Fleance are still alive.

...and that vicious cycle

begins to take a psychological

toll on Macbeth.

Macbeth says that before the night is through there shall be a “deed of dreadful note” (3.2.45), but adds that she’s better off being innocent until she can applaud what has happened.

Macbeth tries to protect Lady

Macbeth: traditional male-

female roles.

Act 3, scene 3

The two murderers lie in wait a mile from the royal castle. A third murderer joins them, sent by Macbeth.

The Third Murderer is an un-

solved mystery. No critics know

who he is or why he’s there.

Banquo and Fleance enter. The murderers attack. Banquo is killed, but Fleance escapes. The murderers return to the castle to tell Macbeth what’s happened.

Macbeth’s effort to control fate

seals his doom. Fleance lives

and Banquo’s death makes the

Thanes suspicious.

Act 3, scene 4

Macbeth bids all the lords welcome to the feast. Just at that moment, he notices that one of the murderers is standing at the door. The murderer tells Macbeth that Banquo is dead but Fleance escaped. Macbeth comforts himself that Fleance will not be a threat for quite some time.

Macbeth learns that his first at-

tempt to control fate has failed.

Lady Macbeth calls to Macbeth and asks him to return to the feast and sit. But Macbeth doesn’t see an empty seat at the table. When Lennox gestures at a seat, saying it’s empty, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost sitting there. Macbeth alone can see the ghost. He astonishes the thanes by shouting at the empty chair.

Is Banquo’s ghost real or a fig-

ment of Macbeth’s guilty mind?

The uncertainty emphasizes

that Macbeth’s fate is part of

him, caused by his character: his

ambition and guilt.

Lady Macbeth tells the thanes not to worry, that since childhood Macbeth has suffered fits. She pulls Macbeth aside and once again questions his manhood. The ghost disappears. Macbeth rambles about murders and spirits risen from the grave until Lady Macbeth reminds him of his guests. He echoes her story about his fits, then leads a toast to the missing Banquo.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

continue to try to lie to keep

their secrets and hold on power,

but these lies become less and

less effective as guilt about the

violence they have committed

begins to effect them.

The ghost reappears and Macbeth, terrified, starts shouting at it. Lady Macbeth tries to play down her husband’s strange behavior. The ghost again disappears. Macbeth is amazed that everyone could be so calm in the face of such sights. When Ross asks what sights, Lady Macbeth steps in and asks the guests to leave at once. The thanes exit.

Macbeth has become so

warped he cannot tell the

unnatural from the natural any-

more. Lady Macbeth sees lying

is useless and chooses isolation:

she tells the thanes to leave.

Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth: “Blood will have blood” (3.4.121), and asks what Lady Macbeth makes of the fact that Macduff does not appear at the royal court. He decides to visit the weird sisters to find out more about his fate.

Macbeth’s desperation to keep

power motivates him to visit the

weird sisters. He has sacrificed

everything for his ambition…

He says: “I am in blood / Stepped in so far” (3.4.135) that turning back is as difficult as continuing on.

… now ambition and violence

are all he has left, and he

knows it.

Act 3, scene 5

The weird sisters meet with Hecate, the goddess of witches. She rebukes the sisters for meddling with Macbeth without first consulting her. But she says she’ll help them when Macbeth comes to see them tomorrow. She says that they’ll show him visions that will give him confidence and “draw him to his confusion” (3.5.29).

Many productions of Macbeth

cut this scene. It introduces

Hecate, and establishes that

the witches truly are out to get

Macbeth. Many productions

of the play prefer to keep the

witches’ motivations more

vague.

Act 3, scene 6

Lennox and another lord talk sarcastically about Macbeth and the too great similarities between the murders of Duncan and Banquo, with Donalbain and Malcolm accused of the first and Fleance blamed for the second.

Macbeth’s murder of Banquo,

committed to control his fate,

has had the opposite effects.

Now the thanes see Macbeth

for what he is: a tyrant.

Macduff, the lord says, has gone to England to meet with Malcolm and try to get the English King Edward and his lords to gather an army to help them defeat Macbeth. The rumor is that Macbeth sent a messenger to Macduff. Macduff rebuffed the messenger, who turned his back as if to say that Macduff would pay for that decision.

Compare Macduff and Mac-

beth: Macbeth will do anything

for personal power; Macduff

will do anything to save his

country.

Both men hope Macduff remains safe and soon returns with the armies of Malcolm and England to free Scotland from Macbeth.

Ambition has made Macbeth

a violent tyrant who holds the

throne only through fear.

Act 4, scene 1

In a cavern, the weird sisters throw awful ingredients such as “eye of newt and toe of frog”(4.1.14) into a cauldron full of a boiling brew. Hecate arrives, and all dance and sing. One witch cries out “Something wicked this way comes” (4.1.62): Macbeth enters. He commands the witches to answer his questions.

There is a resemblance

between Macbeth and the

witches now. All are wicked, all

are unnatural.

The witches conjure up three apparitions. First, a floating head appears and tells Macbeth to beware Macduff.

The head symbolizes either

Macduff ’s rebellion or Mac-

beth’s fate.

Next, a bloody child appears. The child says that “no man of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.95-96).

The bloody child symbolizes

Macduff ’s birth by caesarian

section.

Finally, a child wearing a crown and holding a tree appears. It says that Macbeth will not be defeated until Great Birnam Wood marches to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth is pleased: since forests don’t march, he must be invincible!

The child with crown and tree

symbolizes Malcolm.

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Macbeth wants to know one more thing: will Banquo’s heirs have the throne? The witches perform a final conjuring. Eight kings appear walking in a line, the eighth holding a mirror, and all of them followed by Banquo’s ghost. Macbeth, furious at this sign that Banquo’s heirs will get the throne, demands answers. But Hecate mocks him and the witches vanish.

The king holding the mirror

symbolizes King James who

ruled England when Shake-

speare wrote Macbeth, and

whose family traced its ancestry

back to Banquo.

Lennox enters. He brings word that Macduff has fled to England. In an aside, Macbeth scolds himself for failing to kill Macduff when he wanted to earlier. He vows in the future to act on every impulse, and decides to attack Macduff’s castle and kill anyone connected to him: servants, wife, and children.

Ambition and fear have pushed

Macbeth that final step: he

is no longer targeting just his

political enemies, but also their

innocent families. Macbeth is

now truly a monster.

Act 4, scene 2

At Fife (Macduff’s castle), Lady Macduff is angry. She demands to know why Macduff has gone to England, leaving her behind. She thinks Macduff is a coward. Ross says Macduff’s flight could results from wisdom, not fear.

Another debate about man-

hood. Does a real man sacrifice

the safety of his family for the

good of his country?

After Ross leaves, Lady Macduff turns to her son. She tells the boy that his father is dead. The boy doesn’t believe her, but asks if his father is a traitor. Lady Macduff says yes, Macduff is a traitor: a man who swore an oath and broke it and now must hang. The boy thinks if traitors allow themselves to be hanged they must be fools, since there are undoubtedly more traitors than honest men in the world.

Macduff ’s son is wise beyond

his years, noting that those who

put themselves above society

far outnumber those who put

the common good above their

own selfish ambitions.

A servant bursts in to warn of coming danger, then rushes out. Before Lady Macduff or her children can run, murderers enter the chamber, stab Macduff’s son, and chase Lady Macduff offstage.

Macbeth has ordered the

murder of the innocent. His loss

of humanity is complete, and

the seeds of his self-destruction

are sown.

Act 4, scene 3

In England, near the palace of King Edward, Macduff urges Malcolm to quickly raise an army against Macbeth. But Malcolm says Macduff might actually be working for Macbeth, a suspicion heightened by the fact that Macduff left his family behind and unprotected in Scotland.

Why does Macduff leave his

family behind when he goes to

England? Does he underesti-

mate Macbeth’s depravity, or

has he put too much emphasis

on country at the expense of

family?

Malcolm then adds that he delays attacking Macbeth because he fears that he himself would perhaps be even a worse ruler. Malcolm describes himself as so lustful, vicious, and greedy that he makes Macbeth look kind. Macduff cries out in horror, and says he will leave Scotland forever since there is no man fit to rule it. Malcolm then reveals that none of his self-description was true: it was a trick to test Macduff’s loyalty. Malcolm now believes that Macduff is loyal to Scotland and not Macbeth, and that he has an army of ten thousand men commanded by the English Lord Siward, ready to invade Scotland.

Macduff proves that his

morality and love of country is

greater than his ambition.

Just then a doctor enters. Malcolm speaks with the doctor, then tells Macduff that King Edward of England is so saintly that he can cure disease.

In contrast to Macbeth, Edward

is so virtuous his touch restores

order to nature : it heals.

Ross enters. He tells Malcolm that if he invaded the Scottish people would line up to join his army against Macbeth. Finally, Ross tells Macduff his family has been murdered. Macduff cries out in anguish. Malcolm tells him to fight it like a man. Macduff responds that he must also “feel it like a man” (4.3.223). But they agree that Macduff’s anger and grief should be used to fuel his revenge.

True manhood, Macduff real-

izes in his moment of anguish,

involves not just strength, honor,

and loyalty, but also emotion,

feeling, and love.

Act 5, scene 1

It is night in Macbeth’s castle of Dunsinane. A doctor and a gentlewoman wait. The gentlewoman called the doctor because she has seen Lady Macbeth sleepwalking the last few nights, but she refuses to say what Lady Macbeth says or does.

When he killed Duncan, Mac-

beth thought he heard a voice

say he had murdered sleep.

Well, he did: Lady Macbeth’s

sleep.

Lady Macbeth enters, holding a candle, but asleep. Lady Macbeth keeps rubbing her hands as if to wash them while saying “out, damned spot” (5.1.30). Then Lady Macbeth seems to relive her attempt to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan, concluding with the words: “Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him” (5.1.33-34)?

Lady Macbeth, who once

naively thought she could just

wash her hands and forget

Duncan’s murder, is now sleep-

walking and so full of guilt that

she imagines her hands are

always covered in blood.

The horrified doctor and gentlewoman watch as Lady Macbeth then relives conversations with Macbeth after the murder of Banquo and hears an imaginary knocking and rushes off to bed. The doctor says the disease is beyond his power to cure, and that “unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles” (5.1.61-62). He also says he dares not speak about what he’s just witnessed.

Lady Macbeth’s guilt makes it

impossible for her to hide the

horrors that she and Macbeth

have committed. Her con-

science is rebelling against the

unnatural fiend that ambition

has turned her into.

Act 5, scene 2

Lennox and other Scottish lords and soldiers discuss the situation: Malcolm and his army are at Birnam Wood. Macbeth, in a constant rage verging on madness, is fortifying the stronghold of Dunsinane.

With the mention of Birnam

Wood and Dunsinane, the audi-

ence can see that Macbeth’s

fate is approaching.

The lords agree that Macbeth is tormented by his terrible actions, and that those who follow him do so out of fear, not love. The lords ride to join Malcolm.

Macbeth’s efforts to maintain

power through violence have, in

fact, turned people against him

and made him weak.

Act 5, scene 3

Macbeth dismisses all reports about Malcolm’s army, saying he’ll fear nothing until Birnam Wood marches to Dunsinane and mocking Malcolm as a man born of woman. He shouts for his servant Seyton to bring his armor, then muses how sick at heart he feels, how withered his life has become.

Macbeth is fearless because of

the prophecies, but he seems to

wish he weren’t. He knows his

life is awful, but he’s so gripped

by ambition that he can’t turn

back.

He asks the doctor about Lady Macbeth, then commands that the man cure her. In an aside, the doctor says that if he could escape Dunsinane, no fee of any size could bring him back.

Macbeth seems totally out of

touch with reality. He is a man

warped beyond any semblance

of humanity.

Act 5, scene 4

In Birnam Wood, Malcolm walks with Macduff, Siward, Young Siward, and others Scottish and English lords. Malcolm gives orders that to hide the size of their army, all soldiers should cut a branch from a tree and hold it upright as they march.

The first block in Macbeth’s

fate falls into place: Birnam

Wood will march on Dunsinane.

Act 5, scene 5

Macbeth laughs at the coming army, but seems bored by his lack of fear. Suddenly, a woman cries out. Seyton investigates, and returns with news that Lady Macbeth has died. Macbeth gives a speech about life: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,” concluding that life “is a tale / told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / signifying nothing” (5.5.18-27).

Macbeth has become so numb

because of his own terrible

actions that he can’t even react

when his wife dies. All he can do

is comment on how meaning-

less life is.

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A servant rushes in with news that Birnam Wood is marching toward Dunsinane. Macbeth rushes to see for himself, and realizes the witches tricked him. He feels fear for the first time, calls to raise the alarm, and says that at least he’ll die fighting.

The prophecy gives Macbeth

courage, but also makes his life

empty. He almost seems to look

forward to dying.

Act 5, scene 6

Malcolm orders his men to throw down the branches they carry. The first charge against Dunsinane commences under Siward and Macduff.

The very quick and sudden

scenes in the second half of Act

5 capture the chaos of battle.

Act 5, scene 7

In the fighting, Macbeth encounters and fights Young Siward. Though Young Siward is brave, Macbeth quickly kills him and says in a mocking tone that he fears no man of woman born.

A reminder of the second half

of the prophecy protecting

Macbeth.

Act 5, scene 8

Macduff searches for Macbeth, vowing to kill him to avenge his family.

Emphasis on Macduff ’s need

for revenge against Macbeth.

The play is building suspense.

Act 5, scene 9

Malcolm and Siward meet. They have easily captured the castle because Macbeth’s men barely fight back.

Macbeth’s men don’t even

fight for him. His rule is utterly

hollow.

Act 5, scene 10

Macbeth and Macduff meet. Macbeth says he has avoided fighting Macduff because he has too much blood on his hands already.

It’s unclear if Macbeth is

being honest or if he’s baiting

Macduff.

They fight. Macbeth mocks Macduff, saying his effort is wasted: no one of woman born can beat Macbeth. But Macduff replies that he was “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb” (5.10.16).

The second block of Macbeth’s

fate slides into place.

Macbeth, suddenly fearful now that the prophecy has turned against him, refuses to fight him. But Macduff calls Macbeth a coward and says that Macbeth will be mocked across Scotland if he surrenders. Despite certain death, Macbeth attacks. Macduff kills him.

Macbeth dies as he lived—a

slave to ambition. Lady Mac-

beth convinced him to sacrifice

his honor by questioning his

courage, now Macduff gets

Macbeth to fight for a lost

cause to prove his courage.

Act 5, scene 11

Malcolm, Siward, Ross, and others enter. Ross tells Siward of Young Siward’s death. Siward asks if his son died from wounds on the front or back. Ross replies the front. Siward is content, denying Malcolm’s comment that his son is worth more mourning than that.

Siward is an ambiguous part

of an otherwise happy ending.

Siward prizes strength and

courage above all things, even

love for his family. Might he one

day become another Macbeth?

Macduff enters, carrying Macbeth’s severed head. He proclaims Malcolm to be King of Scotland and swears his loyalty.

Macduff shows his loyalty to

King and country.

Malcolm accepts the thanes’ loyalty and makes them all earls (a higher rank). He pledges to “plant” a new peace, and to heal the wounds Macbeth and his “fiend-like queen” (5.11.35) inflicted on Scotland.

Malcolm returns Scotland to

political order, as his use of

nature metaphors shows. Mal-

colm wants to make his country

great, not himself.

Act I QuotesFair is foul, and foul is fair. — Witches, 1.1.12

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s In deepest consequence. — Banquo, 1.3.125

Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires. — Macbeth, 1.4.52

Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts! unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall. — Lady Macbeth, 1.5.30

Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it. — Lady Macbeth, 1.5.56

I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other. — Macbeth, 1.7.25

Act 3 QuotesNought’s had, all’s spent Where our desire is got without content. — Lady Macbeth, 3.2.7

I am in blood Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er. — Macbeth, 3.4.142

Act 4 QuotesBy the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. — Witches, 4.4.44

Act 5 QuotesOut, damned spot! out, I say! — Lady Macbeth, 5.1.34

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. — Macbeth, 5.5.19

Important Quotes

I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none. — Macbeth, 1.7.47

Macbeth: If we should fail. Lady Macbeth: We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we’ll not fail. (1.7.58)

Act 2 QuotesIs this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee; I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw. — Macbeth, 2.1.33

Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep, — the innocent sleep; Sleep, that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care, The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast. — Macbeth, 2.2.36

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SceneThemes

1.1 In a storm, three – witches appear and agree to meet again with Macbeth after the battle currently raging ends.

1.2 King – Duncan of Scotland waits for news of the battle against the Norwegians and the traitorous Thane of Cawdor. The Scots loyal to Duncan win, and Macbeth was particularly heroic. Duncan decrees that Macbeth shall be the new Thane of Cawdor.

1.3

Macbeth – and Banquo encounter the witches after the battle. The witches greet Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor and “king hereafter.” They tell Banquo that he will never be king, but his descendants will. Then the witches disappear.

Macbeth – learns that he actually is the new Thane of Cawdor. Banquo comments that “instruments of darkness” sometimes tell half truths to bring men to ruin

Though disgusted by himself, – Macbeth contemplates murdering Duncan to make the rest of the prophecy come true.

1.4Duncan – praises Macbeth, but makes his son Malcolm his heir to the throne. Duncan decides to spend the night at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle.

Macbeth – goes ahead to prepare Inverness for the king, but notes that Malcolm now stands between him and the throne.

1.5Lady Macbeth – reads Macbeth’s letter about the witches’ prophecy, and vows to get Macbeth to murder Duncan.

When – Macbeth arrives, he is unconvinced by Lady Macbeth’s arguments, but she tells him to leave the plan to her.

1.6 Duncan – arrives at Inverness. Lady Macbeth greets Duncan and other thanes graciously, but Macbeth is nowhere to be seen.

1.7 Macbeth – , agonizing, decides not to murder Duncan because he knows that “bloody instructions, being taught, return to plague the inventor.”

Lady Macbeth – questions Macbeth’s manhood and outlines her plan to kill Duncan and frame his attendants. Macbeth agrees to murder Duncan.

2.1

Banquo – notes that the stars aren’t shining, and begs angels to save him from the dark thoughts that have plagued him since he heard the witches’ prophecy.

Macbeth – tells Banquo he never thinks of the witches’ prophecy, but vaguely asks Banquo to support him when the time comes. Banquo agrees to do that, as long as it does not cost him his honor.

Alone now, – Macbeth sees the vision of the floating dagger. At the sign from Lady Macbeth, he goes to murder Duncan.

2.2

Lady Macbeth – , waiting for Macbeth to return, says that she would have killed Duncan herself if only he didn’t look so much like her father.

Macbeth – is guilt-ridden after the murder. While murdering Duncan, he thought he heard a voice say, “Macbeth does murder sleep.”

Lady Macbeth – is not nervous. She plants the daggers on the attendants (which Macbeth forgot to do) and then washes her and Macbeth’s bloody hands. She says “a little water clears us of this deed.”

2.3

The – porter answers the door at Inverness, and lets in Macduff and Lennox. Macduff goes to wake Duncan, while Lennox describes the terrible storms of the previous night.

Macduff – discovers Duncan’s body. Macbeth kills Duncan’s attendants. Lady Macbeth faints when Macduff asks why Macbeth killed the attendants.

Malcolm – and Donalbain, realizing that they are probably the next target of the man who killed their father, flee.

2.4Storms and unnatural events rage across Scotland. Because they fled, the other thanes believe that – Malcolm and Donalbain were behind the murder.

Macbeth – is made King by the other thanes. But Macduff does not attend, and instead goes to his own castle at Fife.

3.1Alone in the royal palace, – Banquo states his suspicion that Macbeth may have murdered Duncan because of the witches’ prophecy.

Macbeth – , meanwhile, muses about the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s descendants will be kings. He hires men to kill Banquo and Fleance.

3.2Lady Macbeth – knows she has what she desires, but feels unhappy.

Macbeth – admits that his own mind is “full of scorpions,” but believes that once Banquo and Fleance are dead all will be better.

3.3 The – murderers attack Banquo and Fleance. Banquo is killed. Fleance escapes.

3.4

Macbeth – learns during a feast with the other thanes that Banquo has been killed but Fleance escaped.

As the feast progresses, – Macbeth is terrified by the appearance of Banquo’s ghost. But only he can see the ghost, and the other thanes think that Macbeth is acting insane. Lady Macbeth tries to cover for him.

Later, – Macbeth wonders why Macduff did not attend the coronation and feast. He decides to visit the witches, and says “I am in blood / Stepped in so far” that turning back is as difficult as continuing on.

3.5 Hecate – decides to help the witches ruin Macbeth.

3.6 Lennox – and other lords suspect that Macbeth was behind the murders of Duncan and Banquo. They hope that Macduff—who has gone to England to meet with Malcolm and to try to get the English King Edward to gather an army to help them defeat Macbeth—is successful.

4.1

Macbeth – visits the witches. They tell him to beware Macduff, that “no man of woman born shall harm” him, and that he won’t be defeated until Birnam Wood marches on Dunsinane. Macbeth thinks that this must mean that he is invincible.

Macbeth – asks the witches if Banquo’s heirs will be kings, and to his horror learns that the answer is yes. The witches vanish.

Macbeth – learns that Macduff has gone to England. He decides to kill everyone connected to Macduff.

Theme KeyAmbition

Fate

Violence

Nature and the Unnatural

Manhood

The LitCharts ThemeTracker is a mini-version of the entire LitChart. The ThemeTracker provides a quick timeline-style rundown of all the important plot points and allows you to track the themes throughout the work at a glance.

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4.2At Fife, – Lady Macduff condemns Macduff for leaving her and their children behind when he left for England.

Men sent by – Macbeth overrun the castle and kill Lady Macduff, as well as Macduff’s children, and servants.

4.3

In England, – Macduff proves to Malcolm that he is first and foremost loyal to Scotland.

Malcolm – tells Macduff that King Edward of England is so saintly that he can cure disease with a touch.

Macduff – learns that Macbeth killed his family. He vows revenge.

5.1 Lady Macbeth – begins sleepwalking, during which she obsessively tries to rub off the blood she believes is covering her hands and relives moments of and just after the murders of Duncan and Banquo.

5.2 Malcolm – and Macduff invade Scotland with an army of English lords and soldiers. The army gathers at Birnam Wood. Macbeth fortifies Dunsinane. Many Scottish lords choose to join Malcolm rather than Macbeth.

5.3 Macbeth – does not fear Malcolm’s army, and mocks Malcolm as a man of woman born. Yet Macbeth observes that he also feels heartsick.

5.4 To hide the size of his army, – Malcolm orders his soldiers to cut down trees and carry them upright as they march.

5.5 Lady Macbeth – commits suicide. Macbeth feels nothing, and gives the “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” speech. A servant runs in with the news that Birnam Wood seems to be marching on Dunsinane. Macbeth realizes that the witches tricked him, and vows to die fighting..

5.6 Malcolm’s – men attack Dunsinane under Macduff and the English lord Siward.

5.7 Macbeth – fights valiantly, and easily kills Young Siward.

5.8 Macduff – searches for Macbeth, vowing to kill him to avenge his family.

5.9 Malcolm’s forces capture the castle easily because Macbeth’s men barely fight back. –

5.10Macduff – finds Macbeth. In response to Macbeth’s taunting, Macduff reveals that he was born by caesarian section.

Macbeth – refuses to fight until Macduff mocks him as a coward. Macbeth attacks. Macduff kills him.

5.11 Malcolm – becomes King of Scotland, and promises to heal the wounds that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth inflicted on Scotland.

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